


And Lemon City Burns

by jackstanifold



Series: Who We Are, In The End [1]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Arson, Character Study, M/M, everyday we awaken just to suffer, let my man rest smh, let them have this, look i just want sam to ride the woo train, please, uhhh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 14:53:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29334093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jackstanifold/pseuds/jackstanifold
Summary: Ponk refuses to cry.
Relationships: Alyssa | ItsAlyssa & Ponk | DropsByPonk (Video Blogging RPF), Ponk | DropsByPonk & Sam | Awesamdude, Ponk | DropsByPonk/Sam | Awesamdude
Series: Who We Are, In The End [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2154630
Comments: 56
Kudos: 424
Collections: Minecraft Fanficition





	And Lemon City Burns

**Author's Note:**

> ok, i was watching ponk's stream the other day and i realised how often his shit gets burned down, so i wrote this.
> 
> also i have literally never seen a ponk-centric fic in my life, and that is a crime and a half.

Ponk was there since the beginning. 

He’d been friends with Sam, so when Dream had started the server, he was right there, right beside him, from day one.

You would’ve thought people would treat him like it.

Dream made the world, George brought hope, Sapnap brought adventure, Bad brought compassion, Sam brought knowledge, Callahan brought wisdom and Alyssa… well, Alyssa didn’t bring much, but she was there when people needed a shoulder to cry on.

Ponk didn’t bring anything, and that was just how the cookie crumbled.

It was okay, though, because he was determined that even if he couldn’t inspire people, or help them feel safe, he could build something, something nice, somewhere that could feel like home.

He built Lemon City, and he loved it. It was home, and it was his home.

It wasn’t impressive, not really, just a big tree with a little door at the base and a hut nestled in the leaves, but it meant everything to him. Lemon City was his masterpiece.

The first time it burned down, he didn’t cry.

He really didn’t, even though he wanted to. Alyssa helped him put out the flames, and she offered to help him find out who did it.

It was Sapnap, of course. Of course it was Sapnap, who else could it be? He was the one with a love of fire, and an obsession with ruining people’s days.

He and Alyssa chased him down, and killed him. That should’ve been it. That should’ve been all that happened, but…

Tommy.

That little bastard, Tommy.

He helped Sapnap kill them, again and again and again.

When they finally got Dream to step in, it was too late. They’d been pegged as villains, as instigators.

Alyssa stopped talking to Ponk after that.

He stayed out of everything, for a while, avoiding conflicts that could end with his home ash. He watched the server change, and grow, L’Manburg being built, then turned into Manburg, the walls coming crashing down.

Sam came to visit one day, and Ponk pulled a prank on him. That was all it was supposed to be, a prank, but…

Sam got mad. Sam got really really mad, and he blew up.    
  
He was a creeper after all.

Lemon City was destroyed again, and again, Ponk didn’t cry.

It was hard to feel bad for himself when Sam was apologizing over and over, and HBomb had already helped fix up a good chunk.

It was okay, he told himself.

Then Schlatt called him in for a medical consultation.

“Ay, mate, you’re…. really not okay.” 

“What do you mean?”

“You’re really really sick.”

“What do I do?”

“Stop drinking? Stop over exerting yourself? You’re… what, 50? Take a break, man.”

“No. No, I’ll be fine.”

He couldn’t convince him, but… Ponk was the only doctor in the Server. What could he do, send him to a specialist?

He wasn’t there when the old man died, but he was there for the funeral. Watching Schlatt’s ex husband laugh as they tore his body apart…

Ponk hadn’t liked the guy, but he didn’t deserve this.

Things seemed like they’d settled down, after that.

Ponk rebuilt Lemon City. He rebuilt his home, and that was enough. He heard about Niki’s little brother, Ranboo, joining, and Schlatt’s ex-business partner, Connor, and even Dream’s mom, Puffy, but he didn’t try to talk to them.

He stayed in the background, and kept his head down, because that’s what kept his home intact.

Then Tommy got exiled, and Ponk almost missed the little asshole. Then he heard he’d committed suicide, and Ponk was shaken, and then…

Tommy was back. And so was Technoblade, and Phil, and Dream, and fire.

Lemon City wasn’t in L’Manburg. It should’ve been fine.

It should’ve been fine.

Sparks flew on the wind.

Lemon City burnt down again.

Ponk didn’t cry.

He couldn’t.

He shouldn’t.

He went to town that afternoon.

Tommy and Tubbo were hugging, trying not to break down on each other. Ranboo was curled in a ball, his whole body shaking, his eyes wide and unblinking. Puffy was holding a tattered peice of green fabric to her chest, tears streaing down her face.

Jack Manifold’s body lay limp in the bottom of the crater, his jaw nearly ripped off, his eyes glazed over in permadeath.

The Founders were there too.

Sam was staring at the sky, his gas mask hiding his expression. Callahan stood on top of a hill, lips pressed together. Sapnap was at the ruins of the community house, staring at the water. The other three were nowhere to be seen.

That was okay.

Ponk didn’t want to see them.

He didn’t mention his house burning down. How could he, when everyone else had been through the same thing? He didn’t rebuild, either. It was just going to burn again.

Jack was back.

Ponk asked him how one day, and he just shrugged. “It’s just one of those things, man. Y’know?”

Ponk didn’t know, but he didn’t press. If Jack wanted to keep his secrets, that was fine.

When Tommy and Tubbo left on their suicide mission, everyone lined up to say goodbye.

“Tommy, no matter what, I’ll have your back.”

He did. When Punz led them into Dream’s base, he had stood at the front, watching Tommy take his revenge, right his wrongs.

It was nice, he decided, how everyone was getting what they wanted.

Dream was thrown in prison, and Sam finally got to play warden, a role he’d always been excited for.

“Ponky, do I look intimidating?” 

“Aw, Sam. You look the same you do every day.”

“Oh? I polished my armor though… can’t you tell?”

“...Yeah! Of course! You look terrifying, Sam. Absolutely terrifying.”

“Aw, Ponk!”

Sam also decided to work on a couple new projects, too. The bank, Las Vegas, and the hotel.

Ponk missed him. He was never home anymore, and they sometimes went weeks without seeing each other. It was hard, but…

One day, Sam sent Tommy to clean up what was left of Lemon City.

“Please. It’s all just ash. It’ll be so much nicer.”

“It’s not just ash, Sammy! There’s other stuff too! The… the base is still there. The door-”

“Ponk, stop being so difficult, it’s just a tree!”

He watched them take Lemon City from him, again, and they didn’t even stop to look back.

He didn’t cry.

He couldn’t. 

They were right, of course, it was just ash, but… it was so much more than that. When it had burnt down the last time, he’d brushed it off. It wasn’t that bad. Tommy had it worse. Tubbo had it worse. Jack had it worse. Hell, and they were kids! Jack was barely eighteen. He was twenty years old, he couldn’t just get sad over some tree.

So he didn’t.

He built a new home, a new safe place, a new Lemon City.

He went out, and he made friends. He talked to people. He learned to smile.

Things were going to be okay, because he was going to make them okay.

Because he didn’t know what he was going to do if they weren’t.

The egg kidnapped Sam, and he saw the wounds on his best friend’s arms where he’d tried to eat himself, but he refused to let things not be alright.

He watched Niki grow more and more tired, but she wouldn’t talk to him, wouldn’t tell him anything, just shrugged him off. It was okay.

He tried to ask Sam out, to woo him, but at the last second, they had a fight over something so little, so dumb as a couple of tridents, and he watched him walk away. He’d never even seen the wooing station. Everything was fine.

Things were alright.

Please, for god’s sake, let them be alright.

Why was he like this? Why couldn’t he do anything right?

Sam forgave him, his voice deep, humming, gentle, as it always was, and he gave him a trident, but Ponk couldn’t take it.

He couldn’t.

Puffy was mad at him for something. He wasn’t even sure what, her American accent was so strong, especially this early in the morning, and he barely understood her, and he was so tired, and she was holding a torch, and 

Lemon City was on fire.

“Puffy!”

She shrugged, turning to leave, and he found himself on his knees.

“Why would you do that?!”

“You had it coming.”

He didn’t know what he did. He didn’t know what he’d ever done. It was all pranks, all jokes, all little acts of retribution. People hurt him, so he made a joke about it, and they got mad at him for not having respect, and they hurt him again.

It never stopped.

For the first time since he could remember, as the smell of citrus and smoke filled the air, Ponk felt his eyes fill with tears. 

And he cried,

and the server slept,

and Lemon City burned.

**Author's Note:**

> guys, have you ever listened to ponk and sam have a conversation? like... their voices are so jarringly different?
> 
> follow me on tumblr @manifoldland-empire for more shitty takes.


End file.
